Page 14 of Welcome to Pennycress Inn

Laughing softly, Laura looked down at the towel in her hands and ran her index finger along the edge of it. It was well worn. And a little stained. Another thing she’d have to add to the list of things to source, buy and replace.

‘I mean it about helping out, though. I’m more than capable of turning my hand to most things. Next door will be the fourth house I’ve bought, refurbished and sold on when it’s complete.’ He nodded in the general direction of his house.

‘Really? You’re not staying in Meadowfield?’ Her voice was like a whine. She closed her eyes and cleared her throat. ‘I mean, I didn’t know you were in the property business. You said you were a chef at the pub; do you do both?’

‘Yes, that’s right, but I’ll leave the pub job when the house is complete, buy another one and find some work close by.’

‘Oh, right.’ So he wasn’t going to be hanging around. That was something. She frowned. That should be something. It should be positive news. She could have her fresh start then. ‘How long do you think you’ll be living in Meadowfield for?’

‘Ha, are you trying to get rid of me already?’ Jackson raised an eyebrow.

‘No, I…’ She sighed. ‘I just wanted a fresh start, that’s all.’

‘And then I rocked up on your doorstep? No wonder I didn’t receive such a warm welcome.’ He gave a lopsided grin.

Wringing the towel in her hands, she couldn’t work out why she suddenly felt a knot in the pit of her stomach. Him only being here for a while was a good thing. It was. So why did she feel as though she wanted to feel his arms wrap around her again? ‘Sorry, just ignore me. I’m just t?—’

‘Tired. Yep, you said that.’

She turned, leading the way into the kitchen, grateful for the few seconds’ break in conversation to try to get her thoughts in order. She’d hurt his feelings. She shouldn’t have said what she had. She sank onto the long wooden bench which ran along the length of the largest table and turned to him again. All she wanted to do was change out of her wet clothes and warm herself up, but first, she needed to put right what she’d said. ‘I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful. It’s just with Richie and Jenny having their perfect lives and juggling children, houses, successful marriages and good jobs, and then there being me… I’m not even the youngest.’

‘You’re comparing yourself to Jenny and Richie?’ Jackson swung his leg over the bench, sitting and facing her, his arm resting on the table between them.

She shrugged. ‘I should have my life together by now.’

‘Why? Because they have?’

She nodded. ‘I’m just such a failure. I couldn’t even keep my husband, my career – if you can actually call it that – has alwaysbeen a sinking ship and I’d been living with my parents for a whole year before moving here.’

‘Well, if you’re a failure, that makes two of us.’

Narrowing her eyes at him, she dried her forehead with the towel, her damp hair still clinging to her skin. ‘You’re not a failure. You could never be a failure.’

‘By your standards, I am. I’m two years older than you, haven’t settled down, don’t even have anyone I can call my girlfriend and move around the country every few months.’ He ticked the reasons off with his fingers.

‘No, but you’ve always been successful in whatever you do.’ She reached out, touching the tips of her fingers against the sleeve of his coat.

‘That’s your perception.’ He looked down at her fingers lying on his arm.

Pulling her hand away quickly, she shook her head. ‘No, it’s the truth. And that’s why I snapped at you when you offered to help. I need to do this myself. I need to prove that I can.’

‘You don’t need to prove anything to anyone.’ Jackson shook his head slowly. ‘You really don’t.’

‘Oh, I really really do. No one wanted me to buy this inn. Not my parents or Richie or Jenny. Or anyone else I told my plans to, for that matter. No one believed I could.’ She looked around the vast kitchen, her eyes resting on the large gas cooker, or Aga… or whatever it was. She had never even used gas to cook and everywhere needed a good scrub and clean. Plus, if the washing machine saga was anything to go by, would the oven, Aga thing even work? ‘I can’t do this. They were right. They were all right.’

Taking her hands in his, Jackson looked her in the eye. ‘You’re just tired. After a good night’s sleep in a warm bed, you’ll feel better in the morning and ready to take it all on again.’

‘Ha, but I can’t even do that! The damn washing machine belt has come off, so the bedding is sitting in a pool of water inside the drum.’ She looked down at their hands, his still holding hers.

‘I’ll take a look at the machine. If it’s just the belt, then it will take all of five minutes to fix.’

‘No, no. I need to stand on my own two feet.’ She shook her head. There wasn’t anything she wanted more in the world than to let Jackson fix the machine, be able to spin the bedding and get to bed tonight.

‘Honestly, it’s an easy job. They’ll rob you if you call in a repair company.’

‘I tried that. I rang round like three, four companies and they were all too busy.’

Jackson frowned slightly before taking his hands from hers and standing up. ‘Then let me do it. It’ll be done in a second. You don’t have anything to prove to anyone. So what if people voiced concerns? That just shows that they care.’

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